Is a dark venue a problem?

Short answer: No, it’s not a problem.

Your wedding venue (or your church) could be dark, I will deal with that.

Low light in your wedding venue.

That’s quite a common thing. Very low light makes a more intimate atmosphere, it makes it cozier. That’s why wedding venues like to set the light to a very low level.

Who you should ask for the light.

Most of the time, a good DJ with a lot of gear (LED gear) will know how to light a place correctly. He would bring some light and would create a warm atmosphere. More rarely, there are some places lighted only by candles. Depending on the type and the number of candles, it could become quite a difficult situation to take pictures for the non-professional photographer.

Additional Light by the Venue or the DJ

If the venue or the DJ offers you an option for additional light (usually powerful LED system), I strongly recommend you take this option. It will be a little more expensive, but you will enjoy the party with better light, the atmosphere will be better (people will see what they eat), and you will have better pictures too.

I consider that this should not be an option, and that they should include it in every package. But options are a common way to offer a cheaper price for clients.

How can I deal with dark light?

Maybe you will go to your wedding venue and try to make a picture with your smartphone. The result was a dark picture with only some small light spots. That’s nice. You can even consider the result as lyrical, but you are probably afraid that I will have the same result! So you’re asking yourself, how can this wedding photographer deal with that.

Good Equipment

Fortunately, camera sensor technology has improved over the past 20 years. Today, the latest camera body with the best lens (wide opening) can take pictures in the dark with reasonably sufficient quality.

In addition, I also use the most powerful software for noise reduction, which allows me to go even further. So given that I have this photographic equipment, it’s now a genuine pleasure to work even with dark venues.

I like to play the director of photography.

However, in some situations the place could be too dark to take pictures without additional light. That’s why your wedding photographer always brings 4 additional flashes, just in case. So if the reception hall is really too dark, I can easily add the light I need and there will be no problem.

Sometimes I add some additional color to my flashes in order to create a warmer atmosphere (because white light could sometimes create a chilly atmosphere).

Low light and low light.

But there is low light and low light. It’s difficult to make the difference (even for me). Also, string lights could give you the sensation that you have a lot of light, but in fact, no. So be careful. Fun Fact: The human eye is powerful. It’s able to catch the tiniest little light from stars, to the very punchy light from the sun. So if you make an estimation of how dark a place is with your eye, it is difficult to know how low it is. For that, use a device you probably don’t even know: a luminometer.